Fallen leaves tell spring awakening in Guangzhou

As the saying goes, the falling of one leaf heralds the autumn; but in Guangzhou, one falling leaf is indicative of the arriving of spring.

[Photo: Weather China/@SEAD0G]

As the saying goes, the falling of one leaf heralds the autumn; but in Guangzhou, one falling leaf is indicative of the arriving of spring.

After a spring rain, fallen leaves can be seen in many places around Guangzhou, along the avenues, inside the parks.

The fallen leaves are mainly from the ficus lacor trees, a large evergreen tree of the family Moraceae. The leaf fall period of ficus lacor is around February and March every year when it is in between winter and spring. So when you see fallen leaves in Guangzhou, it’s time to say goodbye to the winter and embrace the spring.

Awakening of Insects (Chinese: 惊蛰) falls on Mar 5 and ends on Mar 19 this year. It signals a rise in temperature and increased rain fall. As the third solar term in the lunar year, its name alludes to the fact that animals sleeping in winter are awakened by spring thunder and that the earth begins to come back to life. It is the key time for spring agricultural activities.

After Awakening of Insects comes the Spring Equinox (Chinese: 春分), as the fourth term of the year starts on Mar 20 this year. The Spring Equinox signals the equal length of the day and night time. On the day of the Spring Equinox, sun is directly above the equator. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere and longer night in the Southern Hemisphere.